A process for the production of methanol is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,619,946, issued Oct. 28, 1986. The patent concerns reacting carbon monoxide with hydrogen in the presence of a catalytic system of the type NaH-RONa- nickel acetate in which R represents an alkyl group having 1-6 carbon atoms. This catalytic system can be made more active by "conditioning", involving contacting for a prolonged time with a gaseous mixture comprising carbon monoxide and hydrogen at such an elevated temperature and elevated pressure that a substantial amount of carbon monoxide and hydrogen is consumed for this conditioning.
Another process for the production of methanol is described in Japanese patent application publication No. 56-169,634, published December 26, 1981. The patent application concerns reacting carbon monoxide and hydrogen in the presence of a catalyst comprising a nickel compound and an alkali metal alkoxide.
It is an object of the present invention to produce methanol in the presence of a catalytic system having enhanced activity.
It is another object of the present invention to produce methanol in the presence of a catalytic system that retains its activity for a long time.